Xylem, the global water technology company played a key role in a recovery mission to stabilise a large cargo ship carrying 150,000 tons of coal that ran aground off the coast of South Africa.
Xylem’s Flygt 2600 series pumps removed water from the ship and helped to stabilise it so that none of the 1,830 tons of heavy fuel oil onboard leaked into the sea or endangered the local environment.
Heavy swells, some reaching ten meters high, outside the Port of Richard’s Bay on the Kwazulu-Natal coast caused the 230 meter-long Panamanian MV smart vessel to break in half and become partly submerged. All 23 crew members were airlifted to safety.
Five of Xylem’s Flygt 2640 5.6 kilowatt pumps and one Flygt 2670 18 kilowatt model were used to keep the ship stable and remove water as technicians worked to unload the cargo of coal and fuel oil. The pumps also assisted in preventing further flood damage to unaffected areas of the ship.
Shaun Hattingh, SAMCO Pumps, Xylem’s Kwazulu-Natal distributor said, “The operation went extremely well. Xylem’s Flygt pumps are designed in such a way that makes them ideal for use in confined spaces such as ships. Speed was of the essence in order to minimise the damage to sea life and recover the ship and the Flygt pumps worked efficiently to get the job done.”
Flygt 2600 pumps can handle flows of up to 100 litres per second (1500 gallons per minute), heads to 90 metres (300 ft.). Available with power ratings from 0.85 to 18 kilowatt, 50 Hz, these drainage pumps are engineered for professional use in tough mining, construction, tunnelling and industrial dewatering applications.
